


Family Gathering

by Amsare



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Feels, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 00:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5647567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amsare/pseuds/Amsare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Relatives.</em><br/> <br/>Too many people for his taste – it was not a secret he was not a social person, as it was real that Sonny was his complete opposite.<br/><br/><em>Relatives everywhere.</em><br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Gathering

**Author's Note:**

> Barisi. Fluff. I blame it on those two.

Rafael Barba wondered why he accepted to follow Sonny Carisi to this family party in the first place: it wasn't like they've been together for years! They had met, they had spent a couple of nights talking too much or not talking at all and suddenly they had a daily routine: they used to go out to lunch together and they even started messaging during breaks – using  _emoticons_.  
  
_Emoticons!_  
   
It wasn't a fling or one of those one night stand – it was something more: Barba understood that when Sonny called him  _Rafael_  for the first time. He didn't call him Counselor – just Rafael – and this nearly gave him a heart attack.  
   
_“What's the deal? I think we're far beyond using surnames, after everything we did... Any objections?”_  Sonny had said with mischievous eyes and well, who was Rafael to contradict him? He had kissed him senseless making him feel the happiest man on Earth.  
   
Then it was time for the family gatherings and with that, it was time for the questions: from the typical “where did you two meet?” to the most annoying “oh, so you're a District Attorney? It should be so boring!” He had felt like a defendant subjected to one of his own questioning and he didn't like it: _he_ was the one who used to make the questions in his job after all.  
   
Sonny assured him they were just being over-protective: they wanted to make sure _“their little Sonny”_ was happy.  
  
In the end, the only wise thing Barba could do was putting up with this situation.  
   
_“It’s not like I bring a new partner every day to meet my folks, you know,”_  Sonny had explained one night in front of the TV,  _“last time they met someone special for me… It was like four years ago, my last serious relationship, so yeah maybe they’re also excited.”_  
   
So there he was again ADA Rafael Barba spending the evening with the Carisis: there were dozens of unknown faces in the little apartment, looking at him curiously now and then.  
  
Probably, they were Sonny’s cousins or something like that.  
  
_Relatives._  
   
Too many people for his taste – it was not a secret he was not a social person, as it was real that Sonny was his complete opposite.  
  
_Relatives everywhere._  
   
At least, Sonny couldn’t blame him for drinking a couple of drink on empty stomach.  
    
_Great._  
   
“Are you okay?” Sonny asked him smiling, putting a hand on his shoulder as to console him.  
   
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Barba cut him off a little nervous, “I met some of them before, so no problem at all,” he sipped the fizzy wine from his glass, trying to avoid meeting Sonny’s eyes.  
   
Obviously, Sonny was not convinced by that answer but he didn’t say anything.  
   
When the dinner was ready, it went quite well as everyone's eyes were set on the new little member of the family, Sonny's niece. She was three months but she seemed to be bigger –with her rosy face and baby blue eyes looking curiously around herself while being hold by her mother Bella.  
   
“Isn’t she cute?” one of Sonny’s cousins asked smiling at the little baby and then looking at Barba as to expect an answer.  
   
At that pointless question, Barba felt his mouth twitching.  
   
Did he like children? If he had to be honest, he did not, with all their shrieks, cooing and so on. Plus, he was not a good babysitter as he didn’t know how to hold them… Especially if they started crying at the right moment _he_ had to hold them even just for a minute.  
   
One word to describe them?  _Stressful_  – and his life was hard already.  
   
_Except…_  
   
“Can I hold her?” Sonny asked her sister, reaching for the baby, “so you have a break!”  
   
Bella laughed as she gave the little baby to him, “yeah, she can’t stay alone for two seconds, she wants to be cuddle all the day,” the little girl cooed happily into his uncle arms.  
   
“She reminds me of someone!” Sonny’s father roared from his seat on the other side of the table, “just like her uncle Sonny as a baby!”  
   
There was a collective laugh at the table and even Barba found himself smiling at the idea – _so Sonny always liked cuddling after all_.  
   
“There you are…” Sonny murmured sweetly to the baby, tender look on his face; the little girl reached for his nose with a hand as to caress him.   
  
“She likes you,” Barba commented as he was feeling slightly moved by that domestic scene, “she’s like hypnotized by you!”  
  
Sonny laughed, giving a light kiss on the baby’s forehead, “I’m good with kids.”  
   
“No, you’re not just good with kids, he’s got a sort of superpower, I swear!” Bella replied as she forked a leaf of lettuce, looking at Barba, “you should have seen him with our little cousins when we were teenagers, they loved him!”  
   
“Alright, alright, call it superpower if you want,” Sonny said quietly, “as soon as she stays here in my arms.”  
   
Barba didn’t know what to say, looking at his _boyfriend_ as he had never seen him before.  
  
  
  
_Adorable._  
  
  
   
  
When the night was over, he got Sonny a drive home but arriving right in front of his house, Sonny didn’t move.  
   
“Uh… Are you okay?” Barba was a little puzzled, “’cause it’s the first time today I don’t see you smiling,”  
   
Sonny sighed, looking directly at him, “I’m sorry.”  
   
Now he was getting even more confused, “You’re sorry for what?” he asked as he turned off the car.  
  
“I’m sorry I dragged you to this party, I mean, I know how you feel about it,” Sonny passed a hand through his hair, mortified, “And I’m sorry I just stayed with my niece and I didn’t give you attention, I know you got bored.”  
   
_Oh please_ , Barba rolled his eyes, leaning toward Sonny to kiss him so he couldn’t keep on saying nonsenses.  
As the kiss ended, Barba murmured, “Are you finished?”  
   
It was Sonny’s turn to be confused, “Y-You’re not mad at me?”  
   
Barba shook his head, leaning back the seat, “Why? I accepted to come with you and I had fun, for real.”  
  
“Are you serious?”  
  
“Yes, I am. I didn’t get bored, I had a nice time with your family,” Barba cleared his throat awkwardly, “and you were a fantastic babysitter. I couldn’t ask for more.”  
   
Sonny relaxed at hearing those words, “Really? I thought you didn’t like children.”  
   
“True, but your niece is an exception and she’s part of your family. I know how much they mean for you.”  
  
  
_Yeah, family…_ Thinking about his _abuelita_ was inevitable.  
  
   
At that point, Sonny couldn’t hold himself back from hugging him tight even if they were still in the car.  
  
“Thank you, Rafael,” he whispered in his ear.  
  
   
_It was no secret Rafael Barba didn’t like family gatherings, even so he was learning to appreciate them so much more, one step at time._  
  
  
  
_With Sonny._


End file.
